Friction-brake.



No. 745,386. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

A. E. REYNOLDS.

.FRIGTION BRAKE.

- APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1903. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 745,386. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

Y A. E. REYNOLDS.

FRICTION BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1903. N0 MODEL. v 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WITNESEESPM INVEN'I'UR i Gldo Gfiegnoldb, /1, 7- Tfiar/oad PATENTED. DEC. 1,1903.

A. E. REYNOLDS. .FRIOTION BRAKE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 37, 1903.

3 SRI IETSSHEBT 3.

N0 MODEL.

1 N V E NT G160 @Raqnbld jflar/vw -W IT NEEEEE 6M0 5 W6 TNE nous ravensc WASHINGTON o r UNITED STATE Fatented December 1, 1903.

PATENT QFFICE.

ALDO E. REYNOLDS, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ANDREWONEILL, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

FRICTION-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,386, dated December1, 1903.

Application filed July 27, 1903.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, ALDO E. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria,and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction-Brakes; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertaius to make and use thesame.

This invention pertains to improvements in brakes for street-cars andother classes of rolling-stock.

One of the objects of mypresent invention is to construct a simple brakefor cars that can be operated with a minimum of power.

Another and important object is to provide a brake that will absolutelyprevent the sliding of the wheels on the track, but bring the car to astop in the shortest possible time.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the true-ks ofa car, showing my improved brake device. applied to one of thecar-axles. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the car-axle, showing one of thewheels and also showing my brake device. Fig. 3 is a crosssection of thecar-wheel and portions of the brake device. Fig. 4 is a perspective viewof a beveled plate used for shifting a frictioncone. Fig. 5 is aperspective View of a friction-cone. Fig. 6 is an end view of a sleeveand chain-d rum. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of a portion of a rim ofhexagon form bolted to the car-wheel,showing a weighted lever pivotedtherein. Fig. 8 is a cross-section of a portion of the lever shown inFig. 7, illustrating the manner of attaching forked rods thereto used inoperating certain portions of the brake mechanism. Fig. 9 is aperspective view of the dashboard of a car, showing a brakesetting rodand its parts. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of acombined band-wheel andcone showing, the axle of the car to which it is secured.

In Fig. 1, A indicates. the gear-frame of car, B the axles of the car,journaled in said frame, and O the wheels secured to the axles in theordinary manner. Either cast with or secured to one of the wheels 0 inany suitable manner is a rim D, which may be circular in form or anyother desired shape-as, for in- Serial No. 167,099. (No model.)

stance, a hexagon, as shown in the drawings. Within this rim, loose onthe axle B, is abandwheel E, whose interior is made in the shape of acone, as at F, the said coned portion being bored out to pass over thesaid axle and upon which it is allowed to turn, as hereinafterdescribed. Frictionally engaging the outer periphery of the wheel E is aband G, whose adjacent ends are pivotally connected to a lever H, Fig.2, said band being held stationary at the opposite side of the axle on ablock I, which is bolted to or cast with said rimvD. It will be seenthat by a-movement of the said lever H to the left as viewed in Fig. 2the band G will be tightened upon the wheel E. The said-lever and bandare operated automatically by means of a series of weighted arms orlevers J, pivoted in slots K in the rim D. The manner of pivoting theselevers is shown in Fig. 3, in which bolts or pins L are inserted in therim and pass through the levers, although other means can of course beused. The levers are provided with rightangled projections M, betweeneach of which and pivoted thereto is a rod N, adjustable for length bymeans of a turnbuckle 0. It will be observed that the levers are allconnected together in series by said rods and that a rod P, similar toN, connects the leverH with the last lever J of the series, said rodbeing also adjustable. Thus connected a revolution of the car-wheel willalso revolve the levers J with it, resulting in the weights of saidlevers being thrown outward by centrifugal force and resulting in movingthe rods N and P in the direction of their lengths to move the lever Hand bind the band G upon the wheel E, the purpose of which willpresently appear. Mounted loosely upon the axle Bis a chain-drum Q,having a sleeve R, extending toward and abut-ting against the hub of theconed wheel E F described. Placed upon said sleeve R is a cuppedcone S,adapted. to fit'over'the cone F, said cone S being slidable on thesleeve, but held against turning on it by means of keyways T in thesleeve and U in the sleeve of the cone S, keys V serving to accomplishthe desired end. Also surrounding the sleeve R are two plates W and W,located side by side and facing one another. The adjacent surfaces ofthese plates are provided with beveled faces 2, as shown in Fig. 4,where but one of the said plates is shown. Said beveled faces areoppositely placed, so that one fits the other, as shown in Fig. 3, andit will be seen that by rotating one or the other upon the sleeve R theplate W will be forced toward the cone F. This results by reason of theplate W being held from movement along the sleeve by contacting with ashoulder Q, of said chain-drum Q, this latter being also held frommovement on the axle by means of a collar 3, suitably secured to saidaxle. The sleeve of the cone S is adapted at all times to bear againstthe plate W, so that a movement of the latter will shift the cone towardthe cone F, as will be understood. Since the wheels 0 are forced on orshrunk on their axles, a construction must be employed by which tosecure the various parts upon the axle, and to this end the said partsare made in halves, so that they may be clamped together about the axleor upon the sleeve R. The wheel E F is held together by means of boltsorscrews 4, passing through the solid portion of the cone, as indicatedin Fig. 3. The chain-wheel Q, is held by means of ears 5 and bolts 6,while the sleeve end thereof is held by screws 7, Figs. 3 and 6, muchthe same as the wheel E F. The cone S, as shown in Fig. 5, is dividedand held by ears 8, while the plates W and W are similarly provided, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4. If the rim D is to be secured to the wheel C, itmust also be made in halves in order to get around the axle.

In the practical use of my improved brake it is impossible to slide thewheels upon the track no matter how tight the cones are set. It is wellunderstood that the efficiency of a brake is lost when it is set sotight that the wheels are dragged upon the track. It is also wellunderstood that if the brake can be set up to that point where thewheels will just turn without slipping the most efiective work is beingdone. view, therefore, it is the intention to provide a brake that willnot slide the wheels, but at the same time make the frictional contactup to the very limit, thus stopping the car in the quickest possibletime. In accomplishing this I assemble the parts as already describedand begin by tightening the rods N and P by means of their turnbnckles,thus drawing the weighted levers J down to the position shown with theirweights resting upon the rim D. At the same time the band G is tightenedto that extent that the slack is all taken up and the wheel E, which, asbefore stated, is loose on the axle, is made to turn with the carwheel.As the car moves faster and faster the balls or weights of the levers Jare thrown outward, as already described, and in so doing the band G istightened more and more. Now if it is desired to apply the brakes one ofthe plates W and W is turned or rocked on its axis by the means to bedescribed later,

With these ideas in and by so doing the plate Wis moved toward the wheelE, thus pushing the cone S against the cone F of wheel E, and since thelatter is held by the band G to revolve with the carwheel the cone Swill be made to revolve also, and being keyed to the sleeve R of thechaindrum revolves the said drum to take up the chain to set thebrake-shoes on the wheels. Now as the car begins to slow down the leversJ, which I shall term governors, begin to approach the rim D, since thecentrifugal force is reduced, and the band G is allowed thereby toslightly relax, thereby permitting the wheel E to slip within it; butthe friction between the band and the wheel E is always such that thecar is brought to a stand at once, it being understood that the plate Wor IV on being set is held in that position until the car stops and thenreleased, as in common practice. \Vhen the brakes are set and a stretchof slippery track is reached, the wheels will naturally lock, for thereason that the friction between the band G and wheel E is greater thanthe traction of the wheel on the rail. The instant that the wheels stopthe governors are at once brought down and release the band G to thatextent that the wheels again revolve with enough friction between theband G and its wheel E to bring the car to a stop; but as a matterof'course more time is necessary in stopping a car on a slippery trackthan on a dry one. It will be thus seen that the entire device isautomatic, the wheels not being permitted to slip for an instant soquick is the change in conditions due to the governors. I have provideda spring 9, Fig. 2, for connecting one of the levers J with the block Ifor assisting in at once releasing the band G, and several springs maybe provided to assist in this operation.

I provide a fiber wearing-surface 10 for the cone S, which assistsmaterially in creating friction between the two cones, and in passing itis desired that it be understood that I may employ any other form offriction arrangement than that shown, as I do not contine myself to anyparticular form thereof. In Fig. 1 is shown the means of operating theplates W and W. This consists in connecting with each plate a rod 11,which extends to the end of the car to attach to an arm 12 on the lowerend of a vertical shaft 13, which, as shown in Fig. 1, has an arm 14,with a springcatch 15 for engaging a notched bar 16. By a study of saidFig. 1 it will be seen that by a movement of the arm 14 toward the leftthe arm 12 on the lower end of the shaft 13 is moved in a direction topull the rod 11 forward to turn the plate W on its axis to shift thecone S for the purposes described.

plate WV being oppositely arranged, a pull of its rod 11 will accomplishthe same result. The chain 17 of the chain-drum Q is attachedin theusual manner to a bar 18 of the brakesetting mechanism, and as this iswell understood no further description will be necessary The IIC

at this time. Returning to the plates W and W, these members as I haveshown them are each provided with four slanting faces, those of oneplate being oppositely arranged to those of the other, so that whenmoved the said plates will be forced apart. Using this method ofshifting friction members is new in so far as I am aware. In mostdevices of this class it has been customary to construct the chain-drumand friction-cone in one memberandshiftitalongthe axle; butthismethod isimpracticable, for the reason that when the brake is set it is almostimpossible to shift the friction member and drum after the chain hasbeentightened sufficiently to accomplish the stopping of the car. In view ofthis the advantage of my construction will be evident, since when theplates W W are turned to release the cone S the releasing of the brakeshas been accomplished.

If it is desired to eliminate the automatic feature of my improvedbrake, the wheel E may be secured to the axle and the baud G and rim Dremoved. In this condition the brake may be used with good results.

I do not wish to confine myself to the particular construction shown anddescribed, as many changes may be made without departing from the spiritand intent of the invention.

I claim- 1. In a friction-brake for streetcars a friction-cone carriedon the car-axle but free thereof, means for automatically revolving saidcone with the axle normally, a shiftable cone for engaging such firstcone, a chaindrum carried on the caraxle the same being free to turn onsaid axle, the said shiftable cone being mounted on the sleeve of saiddrum to revolve therewith and means for sliding the latter cone alongthe drum-sleeve to engage the first cone to impart a revolnble movementto the said chaindrum.

2. In a friction-brake for street-oars, a friction-cone carriedonthecar-axle but free thereof, means for normally revolving said conewith the axle said cone adapted to turn on the axle at times for thepurposes set forth,

' a chain-drum carried on the axle and adapted to revolve thereon, acone carried with said drum and adapted to shift to engage the firstcone and means carried adjacent to said drum for moving saidsecond-described cone toward the first by a rotating motion of suchmeans.

3. In a friction-brake for street-cars, a friction-cone mounted on thecar-axle and free to turn thereon but adapted'to normally turn with saidaxle, means for carrying said cone with the axle, a chain-drum carriedon the axle the same being free to turn on said axle, alongitudinally-shiftable cone adapted to revolve with the drum andadapted to drive the latter when shifted against the first cone, meanscarried between the drum and the shiftable cone for moving said cone bya partial rotary movement of such means substan tially as set forth.

two plates adapted .for a partial revoluble movement concentric with thecar-axle, one of said plates being held against movement along the axlethe other shiftable along said axle by contact with its neighbor,whenturned on its axis, to shift said friction device.

5. In a friction-brake for street-cars, a friction-wheel secured to thecar-axle to revolve therewith, a chain-drum carried on the said axle butfree to turn thereon, a longitudinally-shiftable friction device carriedon the hub of the chain-drum to revolve therewith, said friction deviceadapted to engage with the friction-wheel and means between the drum andthe said friction device for shifting the latter by a partial rotatingmotion of said means concentric with the car-axle.

6. In a friction-brake for street-cars, comprising a friction-wheelsecured to the caraxle to revolve therewith, a chain-drum carried onsaid axle but free to revolve thereon, a longitudinally-shiftablefriction device carried on the hub of the drum and secured againstrotating on said hub, said hub being secured against movement along theaxle and means carried on said hub for shifting the friction device intoengagement with the friction-wheel.

7. In a friction-brake for street-cars, a friction-wheel secured on thecar-axle to revolve therewith, a chain-drum carried on said axle andfree to revolve thereon but held against movement along said axle, ashift-able friction device carried on the hub of the chaindrum forengaging the friction-Wheel said device adapted to move along said hubbut held from turning thereon and means between said chain-wheel andshifting device for carrying the latter against the frictionwheel, thesame consisting of two partiallyrevoluble members carried on saiddrum-hub one of them being connected with the operating device at eachend of the car, said members having beveled faces adapted to contactwith each other to cause separation of such members by a movement ofeither of them about the hub on which they are carried.

8. In a friction-brake for street-cars, a friction-wheel EF secu red onthe car-axle,a chaindrum Q carried on the axle and adapted to turnthereon, a friction device S longitudinally shiftable on the hub of thedrum but secured from rotatingthereon, said drum held against shiftingalong the axle, and means carried on the drum-hub for shifting the saidfriction device comprising the plates W and W to which the operatingmechanism at the endsof the car is connected, there being bev:

eled faces on the plates adapted to engage one another to separate theplates and shift the friction device when either plate is rockedsubstantially as set forth.

9. In a friction-brake for st reet-cars, a friction-wheel on thecar-axle, a shiftable friction device for engaging the same, achain-drum for operating the brake-shoes resulting from the engagementof the two friction portions, and means for moving the shiftablefriction device com prising members one of which is shiftablc along thecar-axle by a partial revoluble movement of either of such memberssubstantially as set forth.

.10. In a friction-brake for street-cars, a friction-wheelcarried on thecar-axle but free thereof, means for holding said wheel to revolve withthe axle normally, a friction device for engaging said friction-wheel, achaindrum for setting the brakes said friction device being carried onthe hub of such drum and secured thereto to revolve said dru m suchdevice being shiftable along saidhub for the purposes set forth, meansfor shifting such friction device, and means for holding thefriction-wheel tighter as the speed of the car increases such means alsoreleasing said wheel to let the same turn on the axle at the time and inthe manner set forth.

11. In a brake for street-cars, a frictionwheel carried on the car-axlethe same being free thereof but adapted both to turn with the axle andalso turn on it for the purposes described, means for gripping saidwheel to carry it with the axle and automatically grip the wheel tighteras the speed of the car increases and also reducing its hold on saidwheel as the speed of the car decreases for the purposes set forth, achain-drum carried on the car-axle but free thereof, a friction devicecarried on the hub of such drum the same being shiftable along the hubbut prevented turning thereon and adapted to turn the drum when inengagement with the friction-wheel and means for shifting the frictiondevice which comprises members having oppositelybeveled faces, thepartial rotation of one or the other of such members serving to separatethem by the shifting of one of them along the drum-hub substantially asset forth.

12. In a friction-brake for street-cars, a friction-wheel on the axlebut free thereof, means for gripping the same to revolve it with theshaft, automatic means for putting greater gripping force on saidfriction-wheel when the speed of the car increases for the purposes setforth, a chain-drum mounted on the axle but free thereof, a frictiondevice carried on the hub of the said drum, the same being slidablealong the said hub but held against turning thereon and adapted toengage with the friction-wheel to drive the drum and set the brakes andmeans for shifting the friction device into frictional engagement withthe said friction-wheel, the automatic gripping device adapted to permitthe friction-wheel to slip within it to release the pull of the chain onthe car-wheels substantially as set forth.

13. In a friction-brake for street-cars, the car-axle and its wheels, acombined friction cone and wheel carried on the axle, the said cone andwheel being free of the axle, a bandbrake surrounding the wheel to holdthe latter and revolve it normally with the axle, means carried on thecar-wheel operated by centrifugal force in the revolution of the saidcar-wheel for automatically tightening the band on the friction-wheel, achain-drum for setting the brakes, and a friction device carried on saiddrum for engaging the frictionwheel to tighten the brake-chain, thebandbrake adapted to partially release the friction-wheel and permit itto turn therein when the frictional members are revolving together andthe brake-shoes are all but locked to the wheels as set forth.

14. In a friction-brake for street-cars, the car-axle the friction-wheelE carried loosely on said shaft, the friction-cone Fformed with saidwheel E, the rim D carried on the carwheel a series of weighted levers Jcarried in said rim, a band-brake surrounding the friction-wheel E,connecting means N, P between the band-brake and the said levers Jadapted to tighten the band when the weighted levers are thrown outwardby the revolution of the car-wheel as described, the chain-wheel Qmounted to turn on the axle, the shifting cone S carried on the hub ofthe said chainwheel to turn therewith, and the plates W and W alsocarried on the chain-wheel hub the same having beveled faces 2 adaptedto contact with one another and separate said plates by a partialrevoluble movement of one or the other of said plates to shift thefriction-cone S all being arranged substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

15. In a friction-brake for street-cars, the car-axle, the frictionwheel and cone E, F loosely mounted on said axle, the band G surroundingsaid wheel E, the rim D secured to the car-wheel, the weighted levers Jpivoted in said rim, the connections N and Pconmeeting the levers withthe said band substantially as shown and described and for the purposesset forth, the chain-drum Q loosely mounted on the car-axle, the cone Scarried thereon for driving said drum, means for shifting the cone Sconsisting of the plates W and W mounted on said drum and adapted for apartial revoluble movement ,the same having beveled faces 2 adapted toengage one another to separate said plates as set forth to engage thesaid cone S with the cone F the latter being revolved by the band G thelevers J adapted to cause the band to grip the cone tighter as the carincreases in speed and adapted also to release the band when the cardecreases its speed for the purposes set forth, and a spring 9 forassisting in moving the lovers and releasing said band.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALDO E. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

E. J ABERSOL, L. M. THURLOW.

IIO

